(A/N- Squee, you DO still like me! Aww, I love you guys:hugs, kisses, and cookies to all reviewers: Well, I can't very well discontinue the fic now, can I? It's summer now, so I'll try to write more often. Thank you for all the support, it's very appreciated, and incredibly reassuring…. And I blame this particular lack of update on A) the fact that we had to move everything in the house into weird places to get the remodeling done, and B) the fact that my computer ate a floppy disk, and my friend just recently fixed it to allow other disks to enter.

….I make too many excuses for myself.)

Note: From now on, dreams will be written in italics.

I was in the theives' camp again, and it was completely empty. Immediately, I was afraid that Carlos and Ganondorf had their army on the move, and began frantically forming a plan to protect the castle against invasion.

"Hey, relax, I just like it better this way," a voice called out from behind me. I unsheathed my sword and spun around to face the newcomer. He looked slightly older than me; one of those tall, dark, and handsome types women go crazy about, with his curly black hair pulled into a ponytail. He was dressed in nondescript cloth pants and a sleeveless leather jerkin that showed off the kind of arms I would have killed for, but had never managed to obtain by any amount of sword-swinging. Bastard.

"Who are you?" I demanded. He held up his hands to prove he was unarmed, the good-natured grin never leaving his face.

"Put that away, man. Honestly," he continued, "do you swing your sword at everyone you meet? How is it you're still a virgin?" He laughed merrily at his own joke. I scowled.

"That was terrible, and it's none of your business," I replied, reluctantly returning my sword to its sheath. "And you still haven't told me who the hell you are." He sighed.

"Here I was hoping you'd figure it out on your own. Way to ruin my fun, Link." I decided not to ask or care why he knew my name. In a flash, we'd returned to the room Millerna and I were sharing in Gerudo Valley. She was still lying there, asleep. Before I could stop him, he'd knelt on the bed next to her, stroking her hair affectionately. I felt a surge of anger. He was most definitely not allowed to touch her, even if it was a dream.

"She's something, isn't she?" he said, the wistful sound of his voice completely throwing me off.

"Yes," I agreed cautiously, wondering exactly where he was going with this one.

"She has a good heart. I know how much she tries to hide it, but she does. That with her strong spirit, it really drew me to her, you know?"

I was suddenly hit with recognition.

"Ayden?"

"In the flesh. Well, not exactly," he corrected, giving me a half-hearted grin. "I persuaded Farore to let me barge in on your dreams for a little while. There are some major restrictions on your means of communication when you're dead. It really sucks sometimes."

"I can imagine."

"There are times I just wish I could talk to her, tell her not to worry about me anymore," he went on, looking haunted as he regared Millerna's sleeping face. "But I know even if I could, it'd just make her cry. I hate seeing her cry. I've never told anyone, but I would have married her if I'd had the chance."

I tried to ignore the gnawing little twinge of jealousy that comment inspired - after all, Ayden was dead, it was ridiculous to be jealous of him when I was so obviously better off...

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"I want you to promise me you'll take care of her," he said seriously, looking me in the eye. "She can't do it herself nearly as well as she thinks she can. I don't care how strong she is, she needs to be loved and protected."

"I would die before I let anything happen to her," I swore. He smiled, and shook his head.

"The best thing you can do for her is not die," he said with a dry laugh. "I already let her down in that department, remember?"

"That wasn't your fault."

"We'd been planning to escape Carlos for three years before I died, did she ever tell you that? Hell, if I hadn't wasted my time, then maybe... But, you can't change the past." He stood up and walked toward the door. "My time limit's about up, but if I could make a suggestion?"

"What?"

"I know you're planning to go to the camp when you wake up and try to sneak up on Ganondorf, and I can tell you right now it won't work. He and Carlos have their tents heavily guarded, there's no way you could get in. But here's a fun fact: the tent Millerna's little sisters share is virtually unprotected at night, now that the King of Evil and my bastard cousin have more pressing matters to attend to. Think about it," he finished, flashing a grin before he vanished.

I was instantly awake, though slightly disoriented. I turned my gaze to Millerna, still sleeping in the same position as she had been in my dream. A position which, I noted with a blush, caused the fabric of her nightgown to fall in a way that left quite a bit of one breast exposed. I was incredibly tempted to utilize that easy access, but instead I reached down and pulled our quilt up over her shoulders before climbing out of bed and getting dressed.

Ayden's spirit wanted me to change my sneak-attack to a rescue mission; easier said than done. Getting one person in and out of a guarded area was tricky, but it was possible, and I was highly practiced at it. Trying to smuggle three people out without being noticed... that was going to be a logistical nightmare. Even if I managed to get them out, they wouldn't all fit on Epona, and a few more missing horses would be obvious - not to mention, fairly noisy to obtain.

"How the hell am I gonna work this out?" I wondered, raking a hand through my hopelessly messy hair.

"You could use a comb, like normal people," came the groggily mumbled response. Millerna was capable of wiseass comments only seconds after waking. It should have been offensive, but I found it oddly endearing.

"I wasn't talking about my hair," I said.

"What were you talking about?"

"Nothing important," I lied Well, I couldn't very well tell her the truth – she'd insist on going with me. "I just have some tricky business to take care of for Zelda. I have to leave tonight; I'll be back in a few days."

"I'll come with you," she said instantly. Dammit…

"No, it's… it's a boring thing, really, you'd hate it. You'll have much more fun here with the Gerudos. Speaking of, I need to go talk to Nabooru about this whole thing – it won't take too long."

Whether or not she believed me, I hurried out the door before she could protest. I hated lying to her – hated lying in general, actually. But if it was for her own good, there was no harm done, right?

I reached the door to Nabooru's chamber and knocked loudly; I'd learned years ago that it was the only way to wake her from the alcohol-induced comas she regularly put herself in. Seconds later she opened the door, rubbing her eyes and reeking of booze. Yep, that's my Nabooru.

"What the hell, kid, it's not even noon yet," she grumbled, starting to close the door again. I caught it and held it open.

"It's important, Nabooru," I said. She seemed to be considering this for a moment, then let out an over-dramatic groan and allowed me inside.

"Fine. Make it quick, though, would you? I have some sleeping to attend to."

As per her request, I recited my plan as quickly as possible, and to her credit, she magically regained sobriety the second she heard the name 'Ganondorf'. Funny the kind of impact vicious mass murderers have on people…

"I don't know, kid, this sounds like a suicide mission," Nabooru said flatly. "I get that you want to save your woman's sisters, but it's a hell of a risk to take."

"Don't worry about me, I've been in much more dangerous situations," I said dismissively. "All I need you to do is keep Millerna here, safe, while I'm gone."

"She's welcome here for as long as she'll stay," she replied. I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"Thanks, Nabooru."

"Hey, anything for you, kiddo," she said, grinning and patting me a little too roughly on the back; yeah, she was still fairly drunk, but I trusted her ability to keep Millerna safe over anyone else's.

So, there's one less thing to worry about…

(A/N- I know, short transition chapter. But the next one should be sufficiently more action-oriented. Toodles, lovies!)